Wednesday, July 27, 2016

My favorite Canadian genealogy angel just received and scanned more than a dozen pages from the naturalization files** of my great-uncle Abraham Berk (1877-1962), for which I am very grateful.

Abraham was the older brother of my paternal grandfather Isaac Burk (1882-1943). Both were trained as cabinetmakers before leaving their homeland for Manchester, England and then North America.

Abraham originally received his Canadian citizenship in Montreal Circuit Court on February 25, 1910. He then applied for certification of Canadian citizenship in 1944, during WWII.

Abraham Berk in 1946

Happily for me, Abraham listed an exact birth date (March 15, 1877) and an exact birth place: "Gorzd, Kovno, Russia" which was part of Telsiai and is located in Lithuania, near the border with Germany.

As part of the certification process, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police conducted a confidential investigation to determine whether Abraham was an upstanding candidate for citizenship.

According to this report, Abraham reportedly "worked as a carpenter at the shipyards at Hochelaga for six months. He then worked at the Angus Shops for two months and has worked for several Construction Companies all over Montreal. At present he earns his living by doing odd carpenter jobs."

By the time Abraham applied for this certification in 1944, he was 67 years old. His brother Isaac had died the previous year. Two years after he was certified as a Canadian citizen, Abraham--the patriarch of the family--attended the New York City wedding of his nephew, Harold Burk (my Dad).

** It's not difficult to make such a request, but only people who live in
Canada can receive these files, after filling out forms and sending $5. You can review
the process here. I expected a lengthy wait due to a backlog of requests but the papers arrived only 8 weeks later.

UPDATE: I originally misread the report and mangled the name place of Hochelaga. Thanks to wonderful reader Anna, I corrected it in the post and added a linkto a history.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Elizabeth O'Neal's July theme for the genealogy blog party is Annoying Ancestor? Push 'Em in the Pool!

Well, I'm too soft-hearted to shove anyone into the pool (especially a long-lost ancestor). Still, I'm swimming in Weiss in-laws. There are a lot of Weiss folks married into my maternal Grandmother Minnie Farkas's family tree.

Trying to connect these Weisses to each other is sending me off the deep end--but I'm convinced they're related.

Herman Weiss

Which Weiss is which?!

Bertha Batia Weiss (daughter of Solomon and Rose Hoffner) was the 2d wife of Bela Roth, a cousin to my maternal grandmother. She, like all the other in-laws named Weiss, was born in Hungary. She and her husband visited the Farkas Family Tree from time to time and were known to be cousins, but the exact relationship remains a bit fuzzy.

Herman Weiss (son of Chaim Yaakov and Rose Svarcz) was the husband of Ida Farkas, known to be a distant cousin to my maternal grandma. Herman & Ida's son Johnny was a frequent visitor to Farkas Family Tree gatherings.

Julia Ida Weiss (daughter of Isador and Fany Roth) was the wife of Herman Wajman. My Roth cousins were aware that the family (renamed Warren after daughter Gloria became a star of stage and screen) were cousins, and my research finally proved the link.

Other Weiss folks appear in family documents. Sam Weiss was the witness to my maternal great-grandpa Moritz Farkas's naturalization. Weiss was the maiden name of the grandmother of cousin Alex Roth's wife, Blanche Schwartz.

So which Weiss is which? Are any of them cousins or otherwise related to each other and/or to my Farkas family beyond intermarriage? A deeper dive is in my future if I want to figure out which Weiss is which.

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Even on vacation--with no family research on the agenda--genealogy exerts a strong pull. Visiting the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of northern Scotland, we chanced across Bosta Cemetery. Fewer than 200 stones are there but a number of members of the MacLeod family were buried there.

My husband's McClure family was originally from the Isle of Skye in Scotland (later among the Scots who were resettled to Donegal in Northern Ireland). The McClure family was a sept of the MacLeod clan still ensconced in Dunvegan Castle.

In tribute, I photographed some of the MacLeod stones in Bosta and posted them on Find-a-Grave. Above, George MacLeod, who died at Stornoway in 1969. In the distance, sheep wander freely outside the stone walls.

Any descendants of Halbert McClure, who led his family in crossing the Atlantic to Philadelphia and Virginia in the 1700s, please get in touch--new cousins are always welcome.

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Fifty years ago, in the spring of 1966, this was what the Bronx looked like after a light dusting of snow, in a snapshot taken taken from the high ground of Paulding Avenue and the Esplanade. Thank you to Sis for rediscovering this photo!*

In the foreground is the subway stop known as Morris Park-Esplanade, one stop further into the Bronx from 180th Street on the Dyre Avenue subway line.

The street heading upward in the photo is Lydig Avenue, lined with attached homes and apartment buildings. Lydig Avenue held all manner of delis and bakeries, among other retail businesses. Walk up Lydig toward the top of this photo and within not too many blocks is White Plains Road, a main street where the elevated subway can be heard rumbling overhead.

Taking a subway to Manhattan from the Bronx, Brooklyn, or Queens was known as going "downtown."

*Even though the photo is dated May '66, it's clearly from earlier that spring. Once upon a time, in the last century, people used cameras and physical film. Nobody had a roll of film developed until every shot was taken. The film cost money, the developing cost money, each print cost money. So we often waited several months or more, snapping a photo here or there and waiting until after we used up all 24 or 36 shots. Then the roll was sent out for developing, either at a local drug store or by mail. Wait a brief week (7 days!) and the prints would be back, along with negatives. Remember negatives?

Monday, July 4, 2016

Hubby's Wood family, spread across Toledo and Cleveland plus one family in Chicago, stayed in touch via colorful penny postcards for every holiday.

Here's a July 4th postcard sent from Aunt Nellie Kirby to her nephew, Wallis W. Wood, about 1909. Aunt Nellie never got her nephew's first name correct, but since he was barely in grade school at the time, he sure didn't read this card on his own.

Aunt Nellie wrote: Take care Wallace that you do not burn your fingers. Do you remember Aunt Nellie.

About Me

Born in the Bronx but transplanted to New England, I've been tracing my family tree for over 20 years. My genealogy book is: "Planning a Future for Your Family's Past" (also one of my presentation topics). Without our ancestors, we wouldn't be here--so it's important to honor their memory by preserving and sharing family history.

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